A year after its launch in September 2025, the iPhone Air remains a shadow of what Apple had intended. It started in a haze of low demand and supply chain cutbacks. Suppliers were told to reduce production capacity by over 80% before the year was out. By early 2026, the device had been largely pulled from the manufacturing line.
Apple tried to breathe life into it by slashing prices in March, but the phone’s ten-week depreciation averaged 44.3%, worse than the standard iPhone 17. Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station reported in May that the phone had barely surpassed 700,000 activations, even after several price drops.
Hardware issues made it a tough sell
The iPhone Air’s hardware couldn’t keep up with even the cheaper models. It had a single rear camera — a major downside compared to the iPhone 17’s dual-lens setup — and no vapor chamber cooling. That meant the phone ran warmer under heavy use. Stereo speakers were missing. Battery life was often just barely enough for one day of use.
To help offset the poor battery, Apple offered the MagSafe battery accessory for sale alongside the Air. But it couldn’t change the fact that the device occupied a strange $100 gap between the $999 iPhone Air and the $1,099 iPhone 17 Pro. That gap gave buyers little reason to settle for it.
iPhone Air 2 targets its biggest weaknesses
The rumored iPhone Air 2 aims to address many of those issues. Bloomberg reported in June that Apple plans to add an Ultra Wide lens to the existing Fusion 48-megapixel camera. This would match the standard iPhone 17, which is a major fix for the original’s weak photography setup.
Apple is also working to slim down the camera module with an ultra-thin Face ID component and may adopt Samsung’s CoE display technology. The display would be thinner and brighter, a feature previously reserved for the foldable iPhone.
Battery life should see a boost, with reports pointing to a 3,500mAh battery replacing the 3,149mAh one in the current model. The device is expected to gain vapor chamber cooling like the iPhone 17 Pro and might be lighter, despite the additional hardware.
Internally, it will likely feature the A20 Pro chip and Apple’s second-gen N2 wireless networking chip, with 12GB of RAM. The exterior may see only a slightly smaller Dynamic Island cutout, in line with the wider iPhone 18 lineup. Rumors suggest a lavender color may replace the current Sky Blue option.
Pricing and positioning remain a question
Pricing is the biggest unknown. The Information reported that Apple is considering a price drop. But the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max are expected to cost $250 to $300 more than their predecessors. That is due to 2nm chip costs. Meanwhile, the foldable iPhone could start at $2,000 to $2,500.
These changes could give the iPhone Air 2 a clearer path to buyers, especially once the camera gap with the standard iPhone closes. Leaker Fixed Focus Digital claimed in April that Apple will push through at least two generations of the iPhone Air regardless of its sales performance, a strategy echoed by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
Nikkei Asia reported in January that Apple doesn’t expect a second generation of the iPhone Air before 2027 at the earliest. Meanwhile, Apple is already building confidence in the fall lineup, with reports of increased foldable iPhone production and parts reservations for 80 million smartphones in the second half of 2026.